| "The mystery of the large pins was solved with the Newark Museum's show, "The Glitter and the Gold", which examined the Newark jewelry-manufacturing industry. The exhibit identified these large pins as sash pins. The subsequent publication, by Eden Sterling, of the complete 1904 Unger Brothers catalog provides additional information. Here is a page from that catalog, showing nothing but belt pins. For the thrifty homemaker, a belt pin had the appeal of being interchangeable among silk ribbon belts. Since it did not need to be sewn on to the belt fabric, it could be moved from one color belt to another. The large shank on the pin was necessary since the pin actually held the ribbon belt together, and needed to be sturdy. What is amazing is the high relief of many of the designs on this page. For anyone who has worn a pin or buckle at the waist, the risk of leaning against a counter and squashing fragile stamped sheet silver is fairly obvious. But for the ladies of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, this was not a particularly high risk - servants did most of the housework work, and "ladies' work" consisted of needlework, visiting and entertaining. The Evangeline belt pin in the previous page is pictured on this catalog page in the top row, second from the right." |
